Three Wishes
by Luv the Legend
Summary: Two unlucky deals are made with unfortunate timing. Amy Cahill and Ian Kabra, sworn enemies for life, have to date each other for a month? AU *HIATUS*
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, all. Legend is back with a new story! I really hope you've heeded my request and checked my profile regularly for updates. And if you have, you've probably seen this coming! Yay! You get an imaginary cookie!**

**Anyway, I will be updating this story regularly, every other Friday. ( I'm sorry that I didn't actually get the first chapter out on Friday. You can read my profile for my explanation.) I'm saying every other Friday instead of every Friday because I think that I will soon be receiving a busy schedule, and I don't want to disappoint anyone with empty promises. And I'm pretty sure that I can handle one chapter in two weeks.**

**So here I go- the first 39 Clues brainwash fanfic! (I think…)**

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><p><span>Chapter One<span>

A car made its way up a hill. At the base, it rolled over a large rock, rocking the entire car and waking its sleeping passengers.

Amy Cahill jerked her eyes open and quickly looked around before she remembered and slumped back into her seat. She looked over on her right to her little brother, Dan, who was also awake and was now staring out the window at the passing hills and trees.

"Dan?" she called softly.

Dan turned around to reveal a longing look on his face. "Yeah?"

"You okay?"

"…as okay as I'll ever be."

"Now, now, don't be feeling too sad," interrupted their mother, Hope. "Soon we'll all be settled in and you'll have new friends and a new life!"

"If I'm lucky," mumbled Amy. Amy was a shy girl. So shy, in fact, that she tended to stutter when she talked to other people. She was not the type to make fast friends.

Hope's expression softened. "I know this is hard on you two, starting over. But trust me, these things work out. You just have to keep going and not give up."

"And pretty soon, you'll be _glad_ that we moved," added Arthur, their father, from behind the steering wheel.

"Maybe," grumbled Dan. He turned to his sister. "I miss Ohio."

"Yeah," Amy replied softly, "Me too. I miss how we always went over to Holts'."

"Everyday," agreed Dan. "And we'd play football with Hamilton and Madison and Reagan."

Amy nodded. "And you always had to remind me how to hold the ball. Or we would play with Arnold."

"Tug-a-war," Dan confirmed, "Arnold versus the rest of us."

"And we somehow _always_ ended up in the mud," smiled Amy. "No matter what we did."

"Mr. Holt would always tell us how we need a daily dose of mud," Dan remembered.

"Mrs. Holt would always make us something delicious," said Amy dreamily.

"And when we got home, Mom would always just look us up and down, all dirty and red in the face, and she'd just say-"

"'Been with the Holts again?'" Hope finished with a smile.

They all burst into laughter. It felt good. Amy felt as if she hadn't laughed in a long time.

When the laughter died down, Amy still felt sad about moving out of Ohio, but not as much as before.

"I don't blame you for missing Ohio," Hope said, "but it's not good to dwell on things that have already happened. You can't change the fact that we've moved. But what you _can_ do is accept what's happened and make the best of it."

"Okay. I'll try," replied Dan, who was looking slightly less despondent than before.

Amy smiled to herself. Her mother was right. She had to move on. Maybe she _would_ make new friends. Maybe she _would_ like Boston better than Ohio.

The Cahills were moving because of the family business, the Madrigal Company. It had been a family responsibility for centuries. Grace, Amy's and Dan's grandmother, had owned the company, and she had handed the responsibility down to Hope, and when Hope could no longer handle it, she would hand the responsibility to Amy. It had always been that way.

The Madrigal Company's purpose was to keep the good in the business world. They achieved peace between conflicting companies. They maintained fair working conditions for the employees. They tried to keep prices fair and quality high. And perhaps most importantly, they kept monopolies and trusts down.

The responsibility caused Arthur and Hope to move around a lot and go on lots of business trips. But one parent had always stayed behind to take care of Amy and Dan. However, a big project had come up, one that needed both Arthur and Hope together for as long as a few years in Boston, Massachusetts. They couldn't leave their kids for such a long time, so as a result, the entire family was moving to Boston.

Amy already missed her old life in Ohio, but her mother was right. She needed to move on. Besides, she could always write to the Holts or they could visit each other over school breaks.

Before long, the car pulled up into the driveway of a small, familiar mansion. The Cahills got out and started pulling their bags out of the trunk.

Amy walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. To her surprise, when the door opened, she saw not Grace or Fiske, her great-uncle, but a boy who looked as equally surprised as she felt.

A flash of realization crossed the boy's face. "Oh! You must be Amy Cahill! I've heard a lot about you from Grace and Fiske and my parents. I'm Nikolai." He stuck out his hand.

Of course! Amy remembered the name. Her parents had told her all about "Aunt" Irina and "Uncle" Alistair, as she was supposed to call them, and their son, Nikolai, who was only a year older than herself. She'd never actually met any of them before, however, and she hadn't really expected that Nikolai would look so...

Amy blinked the thought out of her head before she could start blushing and shyly shook Nikolai's hand. "H-hi, Nikolai," Amy replied, trying to keep the stutter out of her voice. "I-I've heard a lot about you, t-too."

Nikolai grinned widely before he stepped out to help Amy's coming parents with their bags.

When they were all inside, a woman came, walking toward them with a smile on her face. She looked to be middle-aged, with wrinkles on her face and short, light brown, almost blonde, hair. She wore a dark gray suit and Amy could see that her fingernails were painted red. She decided that this woman must be Irina.

"Irina!" Hope cried out as she stepped forward to give the woman a brief hug. "How long has it been?"

"Many years," Irina agreed. "This is first time I've seen your children, though." She turned to me. "You must be Amy. And you must be Dan," she said, turning to look at Dan.

"I saw Nikolai once before," Hope added, "but that was before he could walk or talk! You've grown into a handsome young man, Nikolai."

Nikolai laughed and thanked her.

"Well, why don't we all go to kitchen, then?" Irina suggested. "I'm sure Grace, Fiske, and Alistair would be glad to see you."

They all walked together to the kitchen, where Amy was met by two familiar faces.

"Grace! Uncle Fiske!" Dan cried as he ran throw his arms around his great-uncle.

"Amy! And Dan! It's so nice to see you again," Grace smiled. "I wasn't expecting you for another half-hour!"

"We decided to come a bit early, since we were ahead of schedule," Arthur answered her.

"Well, let's all sit down now," boomed Uncle Fiske. "You can take your bags up later. Amy and Dan, you've already met Irina and Nikolai. This is Irina's husband and Nikolai's father, Alistair." He turned to gesture to a middle-aged Asian man who stood up and walked around the table to them.

"Alistair Oh, inventor of the microwavable burrito and proud owner of Ekat Cuisine, I'm pleased to make your acquaintance," he said as he shook Amy's and Dan's hands.

"Microwavable burrito? Ekat Cuisine?" Dan looked a little confused.

"Yes, Ekat Cuisine," Alistair repeated. "'Enjoy a hot burrito whenever you want' is our slogan."

"Whoa, wait!" Dan looked excited. "_You're_ the inventor of the microwavable burrito? No way! Dude! I'm, like, the biggest fan of your teriyaki burritos!"

Alistair laughed. "Why, thank you, my boy! Actually, the teriyaki burrito was my son's idea. Brilliant, wasn't it? That's why he's the co-manager and future owner of Ekat Cuisine!"

"Whoa! Really?" Dan looked about ready to burst.

"Yeah," Nikolai chuckled. "Don't worry; I'll give you free samples and coupons all the time."

"Sweet!"

Amy smiled to herself. Dan had found himself a new hero.

They all went on talking for a while, and by the time the Ohs had to leave, Amy found that her stutter had all but disappeared.

"It was great to finally meet you," Amy told Nikolai as he was about to step out.

"Same here," he said softly. "I'll see you again." And with that, he stepped out into the night.

It took an hour for the Cahills to get their things up to their new rooms and settle in and another hour before everyone was ready to sleep.

"Good night," Grace called.

This started a long chorus of "good night" and "see you in the morning".

"Get plenty of rest now," Hope reminded Amy and Dan. "You'll be going to school first thing, tomorrow morning."

"Already?" Dan stared at them in disbelief.

Arthur chuckled. "No sense in wasting valuable time that you could be using to learn new things."

Dan groaned. "But we just got here!"

Amy silently agreed, but she dragged Dan into their new rooms and ordered him to sleep. "Night, Dan."

Dan stuck his tongue out at her, but said "Night" before closing the door.

Amy went into her own room, but she just laid on her bed for a while, thinking.

_A new house, a new life, a new school._ Amy couldn't help but wonder what was in store for her in Boston. She was nervous about meeting new people so soon after her arrival, but she had visited Grace in Boston several times before with Dan, and she knew the layout of the city fairly decently. Especially with Nikolai, maybe her new life wouldn't turn out to be so bad after all.

Amy was still thinking of Nikolai as she fell into a deep sleep.

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><p><strong>Well? What do you think? Sorry, no Ian yet. What do you think of Nikolai? Actually, personally, I think he's sort of Gary-Stu-ish here... T.T However, that will be fixed in later chapters. (Hopefully.)<strong>

**And in case you are wondering, this ****_will_**** be a long story, containing ****_at least_**** 10 chapters, maybe even 20. Yes, it will be an Amian story. No, it will not be a fangirl-y fanfic built on a sudden desire to see Amy and Ian together, as was "Brought Together". (Yes, for you real authors and critics out there, I have finally realized how cliché and overdone my story is.)**

**Please! Review! I'll be doing something new, too. At the end of this story, I will post another chapter, recognizing different reviews and reviewers, such as those who reviewed every chapter and the most helpful critique! Maybe I'll add in some kind of reward. So that's something to look forward to. Remember, I'll be posting replies to reviews on my profile, so keep checking.**

**Legend Out! ~`'~**


	2. Chapter 2

**See? I kept my promise! Well, actually, today was pretty busy (again), so I'm posting this at 11PM and it probably won't actually be up there until Saturday morning... Anyway, I will continue to (try to) update every other Friday.**

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><p><span>Chapter Two<span>

"Amy."

Amy felt someone softly shake her shoulder.

"Rrr...goaway," she mumbled sleepily.

Her shoulder was shaken again, harder this time.

"Amy, get up. It's time to go to school. Grace is downstairs with breakfast."

Amy opened an eye to see her mother standing over her, shaking Amy's shoulder. Then, she remembered. _Oh, right. School. Joy._

She let out a short groan and started to get up.

"That's my Amy," Hope said. "Hurry up and get ready, 'kay?"

Amy chose a plain set of clothes to wear to school, and then went to make sure that Dan was awake.

"Dan?" Amy knocked on the door to his room, but no reply came.

_Lazy bum,_ Amy thought.

She flung open the door and cried loudly, "_The ninjas are coming!_"

It worked perfectly. Dan's eyes immediately flew wide open and he jumped out of bed, crying, "_Ninjas? Where?_"

"Nowhere, you dweeb. Hurry and get ready and go downstairs," Amy laughed as she turned around and walked out of the room, leaving a disappointed Dan in her wake.

When Amy reached the kitchen, she saw a box of Cheerios and a carton of milk sitting on the table and Grace hovering over a frying pan on the stove.

"Good morning, Amy," Grace said with a smile. "Would you like some eggs?"

"No, thank you," Amy said politely. "I'll be fine with just cereal."

Dan walked in a few minutes later, sleepily rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"Morning, Grace," he greeted. "Could I have some scrambled eggs?"

"Sure," Grace replied.

"Where are Mom and Dad?" Dan asked.

"They're in the library, gathering some papers before they leave," Grace answered. "They'll set you two on your way to the bus stop, and then they'll go to work."

Just as Amy and Dan were finishing up, Hope and Arthur came into the kitchen in suits and carrying briefcases.

"You guys ready for your first day of school in Boston?" Arthur asked cheerily.

"No," Amy and Dan groaned together.

They looked at each other and laughed.

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><p>Half and hour later, Amy and Dan were standing next to a stop sign. Although they were at the same bus stop, Amy would be going to high school as a sophomore, and Dan to middle school as a 7th grader.<p>

When the bus came, Amy told Dan to be careful one last time, then nervously walked onto the bus, not sure what to expect.

The bus wasn't very full. Most people sat with their friends in a single seat, and there were a few seats that were empty. Amy thought about trying to be brave and introducing herself to someone, but ended up sitting alone.

Amy's stop must have been the last one, because the next time the bus stopped, it was to let everyone off at Vesper High School.

Amy stopped by the office to grab a map of the school to find the numbers and letters that matched the ones on her schedule. It didn't take her long to find her way to her first period class.

The bell rang a few seconds after Amy walked in the door, warning her of how she had almost been late on her first day of school. She looked around for the teacher and found him sitting as his desk at the front of the classroom. He immediately got up to shake her hand.

"Hello," he greeted. "You must be our new student. I'm Robert Bardsley. You can just call me Mr. B. Why don't you introduce yourself to the class?"

Amy swallowed. She hated talking in front of a classroom. But she turned around to face the other students and cleared her throat before stuttering, "I-I'm Amy C-Cahill. I j-just moved here from C-Cleveland, Ohio."

She heard a few snickers. She hoped her face wasn't turning red. _Stupid stutter_, she thought.

"Thank you, Amy," Mr. B said kindly. "Why don't you sit over there, in that empty seat in the middle?"

Amy walked quickly to her seat, trying to attract as little attention as possible, as sat down.

When Mr. B started the lesson, and everyone stopped staring at her, Amy let out a silent breath. Only then did she look around and observe her surroundings.

On her right sat a wealthy-looking boy. He was wearing clothes that were probably designer clothes, had perfect, cinnamon-toned skin, good build, and intense amber eyes that pierced Amy's jade-green ones when he turned to look at her.

"Amy Cahill, hmm?" he said in a bored tone. "Your parents are Hope and Arthur Cahill, aren't they?"

That took her by surprise. "H-How did you know that?"

He ignored the question. "Hmph. They're the owners of that useless company."

"Useless… are you talking about the Madrigal Company?" Amy cried indignantly, thought quietly, her stutter gone.

The boy smirked. "The Maid Company would be a more suitable name, don't you think? Why don't you get a soda 'for him'? And some bread 'for her'?"

Amy couldn't believe her ears. "How dare you?" she whispered hotly. "The Madrigal Company is a noble-"

"Yes, yes," he interrupted, looking bored again. "Whatever. It's not worth my time."

Amy's mouth dropped open and her face turned pink in rage. She snapped her head back forward. She refused to give anymore attention to this self-centered brat.

"I'm Ian Kabra, by the way," he smirked again. "Don't forget it."

Amy gave no sign that she had heard.

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><p>Amy ignored Ian for the rest of class and was the first one out the door when the bell rang, with a quick good-bye to Mr. B.<p>

Luckily, she saw no more of him until lunch, but then she had an even bigger surprise when she saw a familiar face in the cafeteria.

"Nikolai! What are _you_ doing here?" Amy called as she walked over to the table where he was sitting.

"Amy?" Nikolai looked surprised as well. "I didn't know you go to Vesper."

"I could say the same!" Amy giggled. "I had no idea!"

Nikolai gave her a wide smile. "It's great that I got to see you again so soon. And now we'll get to see each other every day!"

A girl on Nikolai's left cleared her throat. "Nikolai, who's this?"

"Oh, sorry," Nikolai replied. "Sinead, this is Amy Cahill. I met her yesterday at Grace's house. Her parents and my parents are really close. Amy, I want you to meet my friend, Sinead Starling. She's a sophomore, like you."

"H-Hi, Sinead." Amy tried to give a friendly smile.

"Hey." Sinead smiled back. "So you're new here?"

"Yeah, I j-just moved here yesterday."

"Well, welcome to Boston. Here, sit next to me." Sinead scooted over and patted the empty space between her and Nikolai.

"Thanks," Amy said.

Amy, Sinead, and Nikolai talked all through lunch, and by the time they went back to class, Amy found herself liking Sinead very much. Not to mention that Amy had stopped stuttering.

However, at fourth period, Amy was reminded of why she had been in such a bad mood earlier when she saw the boy named Ian in the classroom, who looked up and smirked and at her when she entered the room. Amy immediately stiffened and quickly took a seat that was as far away from him as possible.

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><p>Meanwhile, Dan was having a fine time at Hunt Middle School. He had become an important part of the popular crowd and the target of many flirtatious fangirls soon after his arrival. Everyone he passed seemed to already know his name. He was having the time of his life.<p>

That is, of course, until he bumped into Natalie Kabra.

Dan was walking down the hall, talking with his new friends, when he suddenly crashed into someone and fell down on the floor.

"Agh," he muttered as he rubbed his head, which he had hit when he had fallen on the floor. He looked up to see a rich-looking girl who was wearing designer clothes and delicately rubbing her shoulder.

"Watch where you're going, you peasant!" she spat.

_Peasant?_ Dan got the feeling that he did not like this girl. "Who are _you_?" he asked.

"You mean…you don't know who I am?" The girl seemed more offended about how Dan didn't know her name more than about how he had knocked her down.

Someone helped Dan up and quickly whispered, "That's Natalie Kabra. She's freaking _loaded_, and she's, like, the _princess_ of Hunt Middle. Watch your step 'round her."

Dan looked at the girl again, who still seemed to be waiting for Dan to apologize for not knowing her name. "Natalie…Kabra?" Dan asked.

"That's right," she sniffed. "Heaven forbid that a _peasant_ not know my name."

"I'm not a peasant," Dan replied angrily. "I may not have as much money as you do, but at least I'm not a snotty, sniveling brat!"

Natalie gasped. "How dare you call me that?"

Dan narrowed his eyes. He definitely did _not_ like this girl. "I bet every bit is true."

"Why, you-"

"Is something the matter here?" interrupted a calm, but commanding, voice.

Natalie's eyes widened at something behind Dan and immediately put on a sweet smile. "No, Ms. Radova, everything is perfectly fine. I was just welcoming the new student to our wonderful school," she said quickly in a sugar-coated voice.

Dan turned around to find a tall and young-looking woman who was frowning at the scene before her.

"Ah, yes, our new student. Dan Cahill, correct? I am Nataliya Radova, the principal here at Hunt Middle School. You may call me Ms. Radova."

At Dan's last name, Natalie's eyes widened even more and she looked slightly shocked.

"Now, if nothing is wrong here, why don't we all go back to class?" Ms. Radova said, and everyone quickly scattered.

Natalie gave Ms. Radova another innocent smile, but when the principal turned around, Natalie shot another glare at Dan before walking away with her nose in the air.

"Cobra," Dan muttered under his breath before returning to class.

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><p><strong>As you can see, I'm not a big Natan fan. Sorry to disappoint you if you were looking forward to that. However, this "sacrifice" has made the storyline that much less cliché and has allowed me to patch up a giant plot hole. Hooray for giant plot holes! Wait…what? Okaaay…never mind… Anyway, I'll update in another two weeks.<strong>

**Please, please, PLEASE check my profile regularly for updates, because I will be updating a LOT on my profile. This includes updates about upcoming stories, how my current chapter is coming along, polls, any possible delays, etc. SO KEEP CHECKING!  
><strong>

**Also, as you might have noticed, this story has been going a bit slowly, and things have been a bit…dull. But worry not! For in one or two chapters, all plot elements will be ready and set, and the real plot will start rolling!**

**Lastly, Warning: Crack! ship coming up!**

**Legend Out! ~`'~ **


	3. Chapter 3

**OMG, I'm so busy now... T.T I stayed up until 1 AM Wednesday night doing homework. And it's only the third week of school. And I'm still a freshman... I'm going to die. I don't even know how I'm going to find time to type up the next chapter. But I shall do my best. If I do, in fact, have trouble with finishing the story on time, I shall put it up on my profile. So remember to keep checking!**

**And, yes, I am posting this on Thursday night because by the time it shows up on the archive, it will probably be Friday, so I'm just getting it over with now because who knows how much work I will have tomorrow?  
><strong>

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><p><span>Chapter Three<span>

Amy looked up from the book she was reading for her class as Dan stormed into the kitchen.

"Dan?" Amy called uncertainly.

"Can't believe…_Peasant_…Spoiled..." came the grumbled reply.

"Uh…Dan?" Amy repeated.

Dan glanced at Amy, nodded, then continued to mumble mostly unintelligible things under his breath. "…Principal…Kabra…_Cobra_…"

"Wait," Amy interrupted. "Kabra?"

Dan finally settled down enough to tell Amy through gritted teeth what had happened earlier that day.

When he had finished talking, Amy's anger towards Ian Kabra had resurfaced with a renewed vigor. Oh, this was _so_ not over.

Amy told Dan _her_ story, and soon, Dan was storming through the kitchen again. Only this time, instead of grumbling to himself, he was nearly yelling.

"_Argh!_ Stupid rich boy! I want to _strangle_ that freakin' Cobra!"

"Cobra?" Amy asked, her eyebrows raised.

"Suits them better, right?"

Amy recalled Ian's snide self-centered remarks. She narrowed her eyes and nodded.

"Cobra? Did I miss something important?" came a familiar voice from around the corner.

"Dad?" Amy looked surprised as Arthur came into view. "Why are you home so early? Where's Mom?"

"Your mother is still finishing up at the office. She told me to go home early and spend some time with you guys. Where's the cobra?" Arthur repeated, apparently interested.

"Cobra_ss_," Dan replied, emphasizing the plural. "Or more specifically, Ian and Natalie Kabra."

"Kabra?" Now it was Arthur's turn to look surprised. "What do you know about them?"

"Why? Do _you _know them?" Dan aked.

"Classified information," Arthur replied breezily. "How do you know the Kabras?"

"The spoiled kids go to our schools," Dan deadpanned.

"_What?_" Arthur sounded a bit angry. "_Argh!_ I should have _known_!" Arthur sounded incredibly similar to Dan as he stormed on. "But I figured they would be in a _private_ school!"

"What private school?" Amy replied dully. "There aren't any private schools in Massachusetts. Nearest one's in the next state. We looked it up in the atlas in school today."

"And of course they don't want their precious heirs to go anywhere too far…" Arthur started mumbling to himself exactly like Dan had been doing a few minutes earlier.

Arthur looked back at his children. "Listen. I want you to stay away from those kids. Their parents are the owners of Lucian Incorporation, which the Madrigal Company is fighting right now. They…They have a lot of power, so there's no telling what could happen. I just want you to ignore them and keep away as best as you can, you got that?"

Amy stared at her father, numb. Ian Kabra. His parents' stupid company had forced her family to leave their home state and best friends. They were the reason why Amy and Dan weren't at the Holts' at this very moment. Ian Kabra was the one who had mocked her _and_ her family's noble cause. Amy had never hated anyone as much as she did Ian Kabra at this very moment.

She would have no problem with staying away from him forever.

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><p>Amy would have stayed in her room with all of her anger boiling inside of her stomach all day, if not for the fact that she had promised to meet up with Nikolai in the park later that day.<p>

She arrived at the park and looked around for Nikolai. When she finally spotted him at a park bench, she ran toward him, calling his name.

Nikolai's eyes immediately lit up when he saw her. He greeted her with a smile, saying, "Hey, Amy! I was wondering when you would get here."

Amy frowned slightly and tilted her head as she thought. She had made sure that she had left early enough so that she would be on time. "Am I late? You said six, right?"

"Well, yeah," he replied quickly. "It's just that...You know...I wanted to see you."

He'd wanted to see her? Amy was suddenly in an extremely good mood. She laughed. "Well, I'm here now."

Nikolai gave a small smile. He stood up and said, "Well, let's go. I need to show you something."

They started to walk along the path. But as they went along, Amy noticed that Nikolai was acting a little nervous. "Hey, Nikolai?" Amy looked slightly concerned.

Nikolai gave a small start. He had been staring at the ground in front of him. "Huh? Oh, yeah. What is it, Amy?"

"Uh, are you okay? You're acting a little weird. Actually, you've _been_ acting sort of weird today." It was true. Earlier that day, during lunch, Nikolai had seemed like he'd been trying to force himself to relax. "Did something happen?"

"Uh..." Was Nikolai's face turning just the slightest bit pink? "No, it's nothing like that. I...Well..." A light shade of pink now stood prominent on his face. He quickly changed the subject. "Oh, look, Amy. We're here."

Amy tore her eyes away from his face and to the scene before her. She gasped.

Right in front of them was a garden that had two rings of plants in diamond formations. There were fully opened daffodils, small but dainty forget-me-nots, deep red roses, and about every flower that Amy could think of. There was a path covered by an archway from the outside to the center of the diamond rings, in which there was an elegant fountain that sprayed water in an almost artistic way. The whole garden was lit beautifully by small lamps in the bushes and glowing fireflies. In the sunset and growing darkness, it created a spectacular effect. Amy had never seen anything so beautiful in her life.

"This...This is amazing," she breathed.

Nikolai took her hand and gently led her through the archway until they stood next to the fountain.

"I found this place myself a while back," he explained. "I don't know why more people don't come here. Do you remember that little out-of-the-way path that we took through the tree on the way here? I think that's why nobody else knows about this. It's spectacular, don't you think?"

"Yes," Amy agreed, "it is. It's a shame that the person who designed the garden didn't place it in a more public place. It would be a great attraction for..."

"For couples?" Nikolai finished softly. "I agree."

Amy was suddenly conscious of how tall Nikolai was compared to her. And how close together they were standing. And how he was still holding her hand.

"Um," she started awkwardly, "so..."

"Amy." Nikolai's voice suddenly became strong and determined. "The reason I brought you out here was that I need to tell you something important."

It was now Amy's turn to start blushing. "Wh-what is it?"

"Amy, I..."Nikolai looked down for a second, then looked straight into her eyes. Amy's breath caught in her throat. "Amy, I like you. I think I've liked you ever since the first day we met. Whenever I'm not doing something, you keep popping into my mind. I...I can't stop thinking about you." His words came out in a rush, and he looked at her nervously for her reply.

Amy took a moment to let Nikolai's words sink in. He couldn't stop thinking about her. He liked her. He liked her... _He likes me!_ Amy's eyes widened. "You...Do you really mean that? You really like me?" Amy said hopefully.

"I mean it," Nikolai said firmly. "Do...Do you maybe feel the same way about me?"

A smile took over Amy's face and she started laughing happily. "Yes!" Amy replied. "I feel exactly the same way!"

Nikolai grinned. "You do?"

"Of course, I do!"

"Well, then," he started excitedly, "would you...Would you go out with me?"

Amy looked up at Nikolai happily. "Sure! Where should we go?"

"Uh, how about we just take a walk around the park right now?"

"Okay!" Amy agreed. She wouldn't have cared if Nikolai had suggested that they take out trash together.

* * *

><p>They happily spent the rest of the evening together, strolling around the park and holding hands.<p>

When Amy finally decided that she needed to start heading home, Nikolai escorted her to the steps of Grace's mansion. He kissed her on the forehead and waved good-bye.

Amy ran up the stairs and hugged her pillow, feeling happier than she had ever felt before, her worries about the Kabras forgotten. _Nikolai likes me._ She still couldn't believe her good fortune.

Then, another thought stuck her. _Nikolai is going to be at school tomorrow!_ It hadn't really occurred to her before. She had been too busy basking in the present. But now that she thought about it, Nikolai was still going to like her tomorrow. And they would be acknowledged as an official couple, especially now that they had actually gone on a date. Amy had to bury her face in her pillow to stop herself from squealing.

She quickly turned off the lights and climbed into bed, waiting for sleep to come to her and eagerly anticipating the next morning.

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><p><strong>Okay, I realize that Nikolai may now be on the brink of Stu-ism, but I shall attempt to fix that in the next chapter. Also coming up soon is the more exciting part. Up until now, I've sort of just been introducing characters, story elements (setting, etc.), and setting everything up for the plot. That sort of stuff. It might have been a bit boring up until now, but I promise it will get better. Soon.<strong>

**On a completely unrelated note, I shall rant a bit about how busy I am now. Let's see... The very good high school that I was accepted into is a LOT of work. The sophs weren't kidding when they warned me about it. Like I said, I've already stayed up past midnight doing homework. Then, back at my home school (because I alternate between the very good high school and my home school every other day), I'm starting to get vocab quizzes, which means more memorizing. And I'm taking Pre-AP World History, which gives fairly easy but time-consuming homework. Then, I have violin lessons every week and piano lessons every other week, so I have to practice both daily. And I got into a locally famous youth symphony orchestra, so I have about an hour to whatever I need to do, which will probably used to do my homework, then, I'm not home 'till about 10 PM. (But I'm 1st violin, 3rd chair! I'm so excited! I've never gotten such a good seat before!) And I'm starting volleyball season very soon. We just need to schedule our practices (2 times a week). We're starting practices this week, with our first game next Saturday, and with games every Saturday after 'till the end of the season and the concluding tournament. Not to mention that I'm starting a band with my friend. I think I'm the leader. I'm on keyboard and vocals. So far, we have a group of 7 people, but we have 2 singers, 4 guitarists, 1 keyboardist, and 1 bass player because almost everyone can more than one part. But we still need a drummer. We're just going to do totally random songs. Just whatever we feel like playing. I want us to play some English covers of Korean songs! So that's probably going to take another big chunk out of my free time. And I can't quit anything because I'm afraid that I'm not going to have enough variety to get into Princeton University.  
><strong>

**So that's enough of my ranting. On a more relevant note, it's your turn to critique! Too fast? Too slow? Too sappy? Not enough fluff? Cliche? Review, please! It's the only way I'll know what to fix!**

**Have a nice day~!**

**~Legend~  
><strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm so sorry, everyone! I promised that I would update every other Friday, yet I delayed this chapter for a day! Well, if you've been checking my profile regularly, you would have known about all of this... But anyway, enough apologizing. Here are my replies to selected reviews!**

**(Anonymous Reviewer): Now that I think about it, that would probably have been a better idea. But I've already published the chapter, and I don't want to make any major changes. Thank you for the suggestion, though!**

**39cluesgal: Yes, but things are going to start to change in this chapter.**

**favmovie: Well, this _is_ under the romance genre, in case you haven't noticed. If you don't like romance and fluff, I suggest you don't click on stories that say "Romance".**

**So, without further ado, here is Chapter Four!  
><strong>

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><p><span>Chapter Four<span>

"Sinead!" Amy squealed.

Sinead sighed. Amy seemed to be doing that sort of thing a lot lately, ever since she had gotten with Nikolai three weeks ago. "Hi, Amy. Did something happen? ...Again?"

Amy looked genuinely surprised. "How did you know? But anyway," she ran on, the smile back on her face, "yesterday, Nikolai took me to the most beautiful place. We had a picnic in a meadow! We were under a tree on this big hill, so we could see everything that was going on below us. It was so sunny, and there were flowers and birds and..."

Amy motioned for Sinead to come closer. She looked around the cafeteria to make sure that no one was listening in on their conversation. Then, she whispered into Sinead's ear, "He kissed me. We really kissed!"

Sinead looked at Amy, who looked about ready to burst with happiness and excitement. She couldn't help but smile. "That's great, Amy. I can't wait to ask Nikolai about it when he here. By the way, do you know why he's not here?"

"Good question," Amy replied. "I really have no idea. I hope he comes back soon..." She glanced around the lunchroom for any sign of her boyfriend for about the fifteenth time in the last twenty minutes.

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><p>Nikolai looked around the classroom at his fellow classmates who were still stuck in class along with him, finishing the World History test, then turned his eyes back onto his paper for the few remaining questions.<p>

When he was finally satisfied with his answers, he gave the paper back to his teacher and walked to the lunchroom. When Amy saw him, she waved him over with a large smile on her face and moved to make room for him next to her.

Nikolai had been anxious about this day ever since he had sorted out his true feelings for her the previous evening, after their kiss. What if she could not, would not, accept his confession?

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><p>"Was that <em>really<em> necessary, Ned?"

Ian looked at his water, into which a fairly large piece of baked cheese had flown into moments before, with annoyance.

"Whoops. Sorry 'bout that," Ned Starling apologized with a grin on his face. "You know I don't like the cheese on my chicken patty."

"Well, then, why would you buy it at all?"

"Dude! Fast food is, like, the best food in the world!" Ted, Ned's twin brother, said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "And what better place to get it than the school cafeteria?"

Ian almost smiled. Luckily, he stopped himself just in time. He shook his head. "Junk food is the bane of Americans. We'll be ruined if we don't do anything about it."

"Come on, Ian, loosen up!" laughed Ted. "The LI is taking over your life."

"Nothing can defeat the Lucian Industry," Ian stated. "And it is _not_ taking over my life. It's certainly better than living like that peasant girl."

"Speaking of which," Ned interrupted, "why do you hate her so much?"

Ian gave him a withering look. "Is that question really necessary? She's the daughter of the Madrigal Company imbeciles. You know they're our new opponents. They'll never win, of course. We'll destroy them, just like all of those other companies that tried to oppose us."

"Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean that _you_ have to hate on Amy," Ned pointed out.

Ian scoffed. "Am I supposed to be in love with her, then?"

Suddenly, Ted's eyes became wide. He grabbed Ned's sleeve and whirled him around so that their backs were facing Ian and started whispering urgently. Their whispers were periodically interrupted by laughter. Finally, after a few minutes, they faced Ian again.

"So are you going to tell me what you were giggling about," Ian said blatantly, "or do I have to guess?"

Ned gave Ted a wide grin and nudged him.

"Hey, Ian," Ted started, "we'll make a bet with you."

Ian was slightly alarmed by the devious looks on their faces. But he said cautiously, "What kind of bet?"

"If you lose this bet," Ted continued, "then you have to give us $200,000."

"But if _we_ lose," Ned added, "we'll do anything you want three times. You know, like, a three wishes kind of deal."

"Three wishes?" Ian raised his eyebrow slightly. "What are you two, genies?"

"Woo, the magical genie of the lamp shall grant you, as the master, three wishes," Ned said mystically.

"Shut it, we're getting off-track," Ted told his brother.

"Okay, okay. So anyway, the main point is: you have to ask Amy out."

"_What?_"

"Hey, hey, just listen!" Ned said before Ian could say any more. "You can make your decision after we've explained everything."

"Okay," Ted began, "so first, you have to ask Amy out. If she says no, then you can just tell her it was a bet and drop the whole thing. We don't have to do anything for you; you don't have to give us any money. We just laugh about it. But if she says yes..."

At this point, Ned was too excited to stay silent any longer. "If she says yes, then you have to actually go out with her," he finished. "For a month."

"You can't tell her that it was on a bet. You have to act like you really wanted to date her."

"You have to be a public couple. Everyone in the school should know."

"And you have to kiss her at least once."

"It can't just be any kiss, either. She has to kiss you back, too."

Ian was disgusted by the mere thought of having to kiss a peasant. However, his logic reached him, and he realized what this could really do in the end.

_This girl...even if she _is_ a peasant, she could be my key. Charming as I am, she would certainly fall for me after a few dates. With the breakup, she would be completely heartbroken. That could be helpful to the Lucian Industry. If the owners of the Madrigal Company's daughter is distressed, they'll have to turn their focus to her. They wouldn't have as much time to think up a plan of action. And that will give the Lucian Industry the upper edge. Not to mention that it will leave the girl in complete humiliation. It's a perfectly logical plan. Mother and Father should find out sooner or later that I am the one behind our victory, with all the monitoring they keep on me. The money really isn't a problem. They probably want it to fund their projects. And the three favors _could_ be useful..._

"So," he finally said slowly, "let me get this straight. I ask Amy out. If she says no, then the bet is off. If she says yes, then I have to date her for a month and kiss her. If I can't keep her for a month, not that that is possible, then I pay you $200,000. If I succeed, then you have to do anything I tell you three times."

"Yup!" Ted confirmed happily.

Ian smirked just thinking about his brilliant planning.

"So how about it? Deal or no deal?" Ned asked eagerly.

Victory was his.

"Deal."

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><p>Amy couldn't help it. She could feel the tears threatening to spill over. "B-but...Why?"<p>

"After the kiss last night," Nikolai explained, "I got home and realized something important."

"T-that you really l-love me, r-right?" Amy said desperately. This conversation was _not_ going the way that she had expected at all.

"No," Nikolai said gently. "I realized that I didn't really like you as my girlfriend. You're like my little sister. That's how I really love you."

Amy felt numb.

_This can't be happening._

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><p><strong>JERK! (Sorry, I had to get my opinion out there.)<strong>

**So the first bet has been made. Any guesses on what the second deal will be? Imaginary chocolate for anyone who guesses correctly.  
><strong>

**Yes, there were four different POVs in this chapter. If anyone cares to elaborate for any confused readers, I'm not stopping you.**

**And PLEASE don't favorite or alert without reviewing. It gets really annoying when I receive a bunch of emails saying that I've been favorited, but only one or two informing me of a review.  
><strong>

**Once again, please start checking my profile regularly, if you don't already.**

**Lastly, I have some important news for everyone. Stop the spread of the newly uncovered FGD, or FanGirl Disease! Symptoms include: publishing stories with terrible mechanics, absolute refusal to get a Beta Reader, submitting reviews such as "OMG BEST STRY EVAAA UPDATE SOON KK BAI!1! :P" to completely undeserving authors, writing disclaimers that take up half the chapter and include some sort of threat to characters in the story, creating terrifying Mary-Sues and deadly cliches, and many more frightening symptoms! If you know an author or have seen a story that displays any of these symptoms, please offer to beta their work or recommend someone else! Help spread awareness! Copy and paste this onto your profile or your next A/N, if you must!  
><strong>

**Have a nice day~!**

**~Legend~**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, everybody! I'm sorry that I had to miss the deadline two weeks ago, but I unexpectedly received an amount of homework that should be outlawed. Don't shoot me, please.**

**Some new things: I'm going to put in a tiny amount of swearing because, let's face it, it's not high school without some cursing. But it's not as if I'm going to be swearing in every other sentence, so the rating stays K+.**

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><p><span>Chapter Five<span>

"Shh... It's all right. Everything's going to be okay..."

"B-but- I-" Amy burst into a fresh round of tears.

Sinead patted Amy's back soothingly. Where the hell had Nikolai gotten such an idiotic idea? It was his fault that Amy's eyes had been constantly red for the past week. She could understand - well, sort of - why he had done what he had, but all she could think of was how he had reduced Amy into this soggy mess.

Sinead knew that Amy was convinced that her soulmate had left her; she wailed about it all the time. If only someone else would...

_That's __it!_ Sinead's eyes popped open as she realized the perfect solution. It was so simple. She'd must've been brain-dead to not have thought of it before.

Sinead held Amy out by her shoulders. Amy looked slightly startled by the sudden movement.

"Amy, you need to get a life." Amy opened her mouth, but Sinead interrupted her. "No, your life is not over because Nik- because he left you." Amy closed her mouth and seemed to sink even lower, if it had been possible.

"I'm going to make you a deal," Sinead continued. "It's really simple. All you have to do is agree to date the next guy who asks you out. For a month. That's it."

Amy looked horrified. "B-but- but what if- what if it's someone really horrible? How could I do that to Nikolai?" At his name, Amy broke out into sobs again.

Sinead shook the sobbing girl. "Amy," she said firmly, "get a hold of yourself. I'll be the judge of whether a guy is horrible or not. If I really think he's not good enough, I'll tell him to blow it off."

"I ca-a-an't!" she wailed.

_Nikolai, you drove me to this. I swear, the next time I see you, I am going to kick you. Hard._

"You have to," Sinead said flatly. "If you want to protect the Madrigal Company, that is."

Amy immediately shut up and looked at Sinead as if she had just grown a second head. "S-Sinead?"

"I'm serious. I'll publish every secret I know about the MC in the next newspaper unless you agree to the deal."

Amy's mouth opened. Then it closed. It opened again. It closed again. Finally, she managed, "How could you?"

Sinead shrugged, pretending to be indifferent. Of course, she didn't _really_ know any secrets about the MC, but she knew that Amy wouldn't be sure. "So how about it?" Sinead prompted. "Date the next guy who asks you out for a month without saying anything about the bet. If you win, I won't bug you anymore about your love life. I'll even help you and Nikolai get back together. But if I win, I'll tell everything."

Amy looked as if she was on the verge of tears again. But then her gaze hardened. "I thought you were my friend," she whispered.

_I_ am _your __friend,__ Amy._ But she only shrugged again. "So? Deal or no deal?"

Amy gave Sinead another glare.

"Deal."

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><p>Amy looked behind her shoulder again. No sign of her. She breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't been able to get rid of Sinead ever since she had agreed to the deal.<p>

She jumped when a chipper voice from behind her said, "Looking for someone?"

Amy looked at Sinead grudgingly as she fell into step beside her. _Traitor._

"So, has anything... interesting happened?" Sinead inquired.

Amy knew what she was talking about. "No," she snapped. "Leave me alone."

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><p>"Dude, it's already been a week. Let's pick it up, when are you going to ask her out?"<p>

"Don't be so impatient, Ned. I'll do it when the time is right," Ian replied, feeling slightly annoyed by his persistence.

"He's right, you know," Ted said pointedly. "You have to ask her by tomorrow, or we win by default."

"I never agreed to anything like that," Ian said haughtily. "I said I'll do it when the time is right."

"...Don't forget," came a voice from around the corner.

"As if you would ever let me." Ian couldn't help but think that this voice was very familiar...

His answer became clear as Amy Cahill turned the corner with... _What__ was__ her__ name__ again?__ Oh__ well, __not __that__ it__ really__ matters._

Ned was nearly bouncing with excitement. "You said you would do it when the time was right," he said eagerly. "Well, the time's right. Come on!"

Ian rolled his eyes, but he followed his friends down the hall to meet the peasant girl.

* * *

><p>"Oh, well, look who it is."<p>

Amy's blood ran cold as she looked up to meet the gaze of a Cobra. This was just what she needed. The _perfect_ ending to a _perfect_ day.

"What do you want?" Her icy voice held her irritation.

Ian smirked. "Why, I simply wanted to give you the opportunity of a lifetime."

"What kind of opportunity would that be? The opportunity to wipe you off the face of planet Earth? Something like that would be very nice."

His smirk faltered a little, and his jaw tightened. The two boys beside him took a step back when they saw Sinead, who was staring at them intently, as if she was warning them. Were they her triplet brothers? Amy couldn't think of anything at that moment except for the hatred that she felt for the boy in front of her.

"Well?" she demanded. "What do you want?"

Ian's superior attitude returned at full blast. "Go out with me."

Amy's eyebrows shot up. She quickly looked at Sinead, who jerked her head towards Ian.

This had to be some sort of trick. He was, after all, the son of the owner of the Lucian Industry. But Sinead didn't know that. She had just signaled Amy to agree to Ian's proposal. Amy would not, could not do that. But if she didn't, then her parents' company would be at risk. And that meant...

_Shit._

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><p><strong>Ahaha, now the <em>real<em> action begins.**

**Same reminders:**

_**Keep checking my profile for updates.**_

_**Don't favorite or alert without reviewing.**_

**Review Replies:**

**Stone Moss: Thank you for the tip. I felt like spelling out large numbers like that would be a little annoying to read, but, yes, I agree that spelling out numbers would probably be grammatically correct.**

**CharmFlight107: That will actually be a main point in my plotline. You'll see. ;)**

**Kudos to 39cluesgal for the closest guess. (And yes, I actually have everything, including the ending, planned out already.)**_**  
><strong>_

**Once again, I'm sorry for being late. I'm pretty sure I can make the next deadline because it's the end of the quarter, and we get a four-day weekend.  
><strong>

**Have a nice day~!**

**~Legend~  
><strong>


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